Motion control systems are commonly used in the photographic and videographic industries to provide controlled movement to various types of equipment. For instance, for a given scene, a director may require a camera to move while the camera is tilted and panned all while the focus is being adjusted. While an operator could perform all of these functions manually by holding and manipulating the camera, a high level of precision and reproducibility is difficult, if not impossible. As such, mechanized motion control systems have been developed which allow for precise and repeatable movements.
One basic element of a motion control system is a rotatable axis. The rotatable axis allows movement about one axis, such as a pan axis or a tilt axis. In a common embodiment, these rotatable axes are driven by a worm gear. As with any geared system, slop between the teeth of the respective gears can result in backlash, or lash, which can cause a jittery or uneven rotation. This slop can be minimized in a number of ways and has been the subject of many previous inventions. The prior art systems fail for difficulty in assembly and residual slop or binding of the gears. In many cases, prior systems include a pair of members, one above the worm gear and one below the worm gear, both being independently adjusted to move the worm gear toward or away from the worm. If these two members are adjusted differently, the worm and the worm gear can become unaligned and bind or cause wear on the system. As such, these previous structures are difficult to assemble and maintain. As such, an improved motion control system is needed.